Project 1 : The art of adaptation
For this part of the group assignment, students are required to select and read the chosen chapter from the great Italian author Italo Calvino’s book – Invisible Cities. Subsequently, we extract the ideas and describe the story. The extraction focuses on distinguished elements and methods to resemble the characteristics of the story. We then creatively adapt the story by graphical/visual representation in the form of a diorama or A3 sized artwork.
The city and the sky
-Literal translation: a land and its universe that lies above the surface of earth
- Details, significance, overall connection between site and the sky
- Special linkage: multiple & various perspective
- Sky as a separate & different realm
- Land as a direct mirrored reflection of the sky
- City orbit creates day & night and contrasting atmospheres
- City unique progression in relation to time
- All cities have destined fates
- Balance & contrasting realm with sequence of happening events is maintained
The A3 artwork
The 4 seasons is a representation of cities as an ecosystem. 4 seasons closely related to one another yet with significantly different projection during spring, summer, autumn and winter.
SIGNIFICANCE
Seasons as progression
Vegetation as growth (life cycle)
Human as life
Pentagonal form as cities
Black tape as connectivity within cities
- Composed of multiple layers and depth (texture)
- Continuous cycle and loop
- Similar (simple) form but different (complex) settings
- Similar settings but different arrangement
- Constantly changing/changeable (different combination, different outcome)
- Projections (day and night, light and shadow)
Reflection
Italo Calvino's Invisible Cities might be labeled travelogue, but the places Calvino describes do not exist on any map. Technically, this is a novel, a work of fiction, but one without any storyline. The only characters are Kublai Khan and Marco Polo, where the Venetian explorer is regaling the Mongol ruler with tales of the cities he has seen journeying to the far reaches of Khan's vast empire. He uses an elaborate and intentionally disorienting manner of writing for readers to perceive dreamlike realms. We are able to translate its story into our own interpretation of the theme city and the sky.
Discipline specific knowledge
Lifelong learning
Thinking and problem solving skills
Interpersonal skills
Communication skills